The Science Behind Increasing Mental Toughness & Reducing Stress
During my years working with Dr. John C. Maxwell, he told me a story from his boyhood. He recalls wrestling his older brother, Larry, in the living room. Larry was bigger and more experienced, which meant he beat John every single time. Over time, the defeats came quicker and quicker, as John became conditioned to…
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Why Kids Behave Poorly
Recently, Growing Leaders teamed up with Harris Poll to discover some important insights about life in today’s culture. We surveyed 2,264 adults, ages 18 and older in June 2017. One particular insight deserves some interpretation. In the survey, young adults said they learn more from technology than from people. Nearly 3 in 5 U.S. adults…
Continue ReadingSeven Mistakes Hindering Kids from Becoming Great Leaders
So many who read our blog posts work with students, and many of you develop student leaders. Our goal is to help you in that process. After consulting with both high schools and universities this past year, I noticed several common traps that ambushed young leaders (student leaders and young professionals) during their first year…
Continue ReadingHow to Inspire Students to Do What’s Right
Every teacher, coach, employer and parent wants to influence their young people to do what they know is right. Far too often, however, we merely emulate what our parents did with us, as we grew up. We tell them they “ought to” do the right thing. The problem is, ideas like “ought to” and “should”…
Continue ReadingFour Changes That Will Win the Heart of Generation Z Students
Ours is a world where students are savvy and aware—and very difficult to “wow.” Many are well-informed, well-entertained and have already traveled to places we never traveled until we were well into our adult lives. They scroll through their phones looking for something that will capture their interest. Due to over-exposure to information some have…
Continue Reading12 Things That Are in Your Control and Require No Talent
These days, it’s easy for students to become consumed with gaining a competitive advantage over their peers in college or in their career. They belabor their GPA or their SAT score, their IQ and whether they took an AP course, all the while missing some fundamentals that can completely differentiate them from others. The good…
Continue ReadingThe Fastest Trick to Develop Student Leaders
Last March, a university dean faced a shortage of resident advisors for the following school year. He needed to recruit students to offer oversight to hall floors, each having about fifty-eight fellow students. It’s no small feat, but R.A.’s usually get a healthy stipend for doing it, and sometimes their entire tuition is covered for…
Continue ReadingWhy Daily Silence Makes Students Smarter
Hear ye, hear ye! All educators, coaches, parents—and certainly students—need to ponder and digest the latest research on the topic of silence. Silence can grow your brain. I am not kidding. A 2013 study monitored the effect of “sound” versus “silence” on mice. What researchers discovered was profound. When exposed to two hours of silence…
Continue ReadingIn Ten Years, Will We Be Smart Enough for Our Smart World?
The Wall Street Journal recently posted an article reminding Americans how fast change is coming over the next ten years. The article was written following an interview with the executives at Apple, who whet our appetites for future technology by saying the iPhone may not even be a phone anymore in ten years. Did you…
Continue ReadingWhy Straight A’s Hurt Today’s Students
The report is in for last year’s grade point averages of American students. After reviewing it—I’d say it’s good news and bad news. The good news is, more high school students are getting A’s on their report card. The bad news is, students may not really be learning something. Why would I say that? According…
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